Dynamic clustering-based consensus model for large-scale group decision-making considering overlapping communities

Abstract

Consensus-reaching strategy is crucial in large-scale group decision-making (LSGDM) as it serves as an effective approach to reducing group conflicts. Meanwhile, the common social network relationships in large groups can affect information exchange, thereby influencing the consensus-reaching process (CRP) and decision results. Therefore, how to leverage social network information in LSGDM to obtain an agreed solution has received widespread attention. However, most existing research assumes relative independence between communities in the dimension reduction process of LSGDM and neglects the possibility of different overlaps between them. Moreover, the impact of overlapping communities on CRP has not been adequately explored. Besides, the dynamic variations in clusters and their weights caused by evaluation updates need to be further studied. To address these issues, this paper proposes a dynamic clustering-based consensus-reaching method for LSGDM considering the impact of overlapping communities. First, the LINE-based label propagation algorithm is designed to cluster decision makers (DMs) and detect overlapping communities with social network information. An overlapping community-driven feedback mechanism is then developed to enhance group consensus by utilizing the bridging role of overlapping DMs. During CRP, clusters and their weights are dynamically updated with trust evolution due to the evaluation iteration. Finally, a case study using the Film Trust dataset is conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Simulation experiments and comparative analysis demonstrate the capability of our method in modeling practical scenarios and addressing LSGDM problems under social network contexts.